Just got Planescape Torment

[Alinestra Covelia]

Oh my god. This game is amazing.

Really indepth conversation options, compelling and 3D characters as written, and a very poignant storyline to boot!

I've just gotten past the Brothel and the Festhall and I'm finding it really hard to put this game down.

[Wiglaf]

How did you get it? My ass has wanted to play that game for a while now. Someone told me it was like a good book.

[Alinestra Covelia]

My cousin lent me a copy. I think you can get it online from auction sites but it's quite expensive, sadly

[DrSpike]

Yeah, it's something of a classic and as such commands high prices on eBay.

It used to be acquirable but you might struggle to find sources now.

On the plus side, you do have to be something of a masochist to play old games that only run in 640*480 anyway.

[Jamski]

Bah, stuff the resolution, you're going to be reading text for most of the game.

What can change the nature of a man?

[DrSpike]

A wo-man?

[Alinestra Covelia]

There are plenty of memorable bits of dialog too.

Morte: (protesting that you're about to let a succubus join your party) C'mon chief, you're just letting her join because she's a demon dedicated to pleasuring and seducing humans, and all she has to do is flash a little skin...

[Morte ponders]

...not that I'm against that, necessarily - I just wanted to say.

[Kinjiru]

Chatty, disembodied skulls...

[Nostromo]

Probably one of my favorite games ever. I don't know why the hell I sold it. You can still get it on Amazon and eBay, BTW. You can get it for 50 bucks (used) on Amazon. Not cheap, I know.

[Nims]

On the plus side, you do have to be something of a masochist to play old games that only run in 640*480 anyway.

Not true anymore, there is this this
mod that let's you play at higher resolutions. Even though it is not perfect re the interface it works and makes quite a difference.

[DrSpike]

Cool.

There has been BG Tutu to up resolution for the BG series (and other things) for several years as well.

[Alinestra Covelia]

And this is from the FAQ on GameFAQs, and I've just heard this conversation ingame myself:

Morte: "Psst. Hey Nordom. Calculate the easiest way for me to 'snuggle with Annah's pillows,' okay?"
Nordom: "Annah! Morte wants to 'snuggle with your pillows.'"
Morte: "Shut up! Shut up!!"
Annah: "Oh, I'll give yeh somethin' to snuggle up to! Eejit!"

[The Mad Viking]

Here's a nice one on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Planescape-Torment-PC-RARE_W0QQitemZ260223248736QQihZ016QQcategoryZ62053QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Now Ali, can you give me a bit more as to why I should buy it?

[pg]

The first 10-20hrs are pretty awesome after that it sort of lost it's magic for me. Those first hours are some of the best gaming moments I've had however.

[Nostromo]

Damn you, Ali! I "acquired" it using arcane means beyond all you mortals. (But I guess its OK, since I bought it once, a couple of years back.) And now, I started playing it again. And I don't even play games no more.

@ Mad Viking:

Despite blazing reviews, Interplay's formidable marketing machine, and many accolades of "1999 RPG of the year," Planescape: Torment did not achieve the same commercial success of Baldur's Gate. Perharps some of reasons for poor sales are the fact that there were quite a few bugs in the initial release, the sheer amount of text the player had to read, and the fact that the well-known interface from Baldur's Gate was changed into something more difficult to use. Interface tweaks, however, were nesssary to make room for the larger and more detailed animations. Or perhaps the leap from the familiar AD&D world of Baldur's Gate to the alien setting and more mature storyline of Torment was just too great for the many followers of Baldur's Gate. Nevertheless, if you are looking for an excellent RPG with a truly superb storyline that puts the "kill the foozle" plot of most other RPGs to shame, Torment is a must-have.

The game casts you as Nameless, a hero who woke up with amnesia. The catch: you discover that you have become an immortal. A god walking on Earth, so to speak. As you journey into the strange and wonderful world of Planescape, you will slowly learn about your life... and must eventually come to terms with horrible deeds you have committed in the past.

Anyone who has played any Black Isle game will be familiar with the interface - which is very easy to learn and use. There are many keyboard shortcuts for most important actions, and you will quickly get used to keyboard + mouse combination. The graphics is simply superb, and even strangely compelling. One of the most fun aspects of Torment is that the weird setting influences everything from weapons to NPCs and beyond. What other game lets you recruit a talkative flying skull as your companion, and then lets you equip him with different kinds of teeth as "weapon upgrades"? Like any good RPG, there are plenty of people to talk to, experience to gain, cool magic to wield, quests and sub-plots to enjoy, and dark deep secrets to discover.

Although Torment is not a "free-form" game in the same way that Morrowind is, it still offers a good range of options and alternate paths - many of which are dependent on your character's alignment, which is in turn influenced by your behavior. You can be anything from a do-gooder to absolute evil - it's all up to you. Your actions will lead you to one of the game's multiple endings, each of which nicely ties together loose ends, but not all of which is wholly satisfying. With the best writing I have ever seen in an RPG game, Planescape: Torment will leave you deep in thought long after the game is over - that's how profound and fascinating the story really is. Truly a masterpiece, and a must-have for every RPG fan.